How Things Are and How They Should Be
by Pepper9873
Summary: Set in an aternate reality. Mystique's life is turned upside-down when she finds out that Magneto has been using a mind control device on her. Now she has to painfully re-adjust to life, but someone from her past helps to make the transition easier.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first X-Men Evolution fanfic, and I'm very excited to start it. I apologize for the the poor title, my brain wouldn't come up with anything better. Anyway please review, and if you have any suggestions for the title, please do not be afraid to share them.

P.S. Just a reminder, this is set in an alternate reality. Please do not get upset if the details do not match with the show. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story, they are the respectful property of Marvel Comics and Warner Brothers Studios, I just write stories about them.

* * *

_"No!" the woman screamed as she watched the building she called 'home' being engulfed in flame. She tried to run back into the building, but a man held her back. She struggled against him, determined to break free from his hold. He held her tightly, refusing to give in. The roof of the building crumbled, and the only thing the woman could do was watch in horror._

* * *

Mystique sprang upright in her bed. She was covered in sweat and shaking. "Clam down, Raven," she consoled herself. "It's just a nightmare." she hugged her legs close to her chest. Gentle she started rocking, something that always helped after she woke up from one of her 'nightmares'. This time it took longer then usual. After a few more minutes, she finally managed to fall back asleep.

* * *

Awaking five hours later, Mystique got out of bed. She took a quick shower before putting on her uniform. She stalked down the stairs, careful not to wake any of the Brotherhood. She walked into the kitchen, and opened a window. She climbed onto the sill of the open window, and in one quick leap, turned into a falcon and flew off towards the east.

* * *

She reached her destination as the sun reached its zenith. She unfolded her legs, and landed on the shoulder of a tall, very hairy, man.

"What took you so long?" the man asked with a very gruff voice.

Jumping off the man's shoulder, she turned back to her normal form. "It's a long flight to here from Bayville," she answered.

"Doesn't matter. Magneto hasn't arrived yet either.

"I can tell."

"If he's not here in five minutes, I'm leaving," he snarled.

"Relax, Sabertooth, he'll be here. When, he feels the time is right," she said as she studied her nails. He growled in response.

"She's right," Magneto said as he appeared out of the trees. "I'm glad you both could come."

"What did you want?" Sabertooth growled, his patience wearing.

"You see that compound over there, behind that stone." Magneto pointed. "In there is a research facility."

"What are they researching?" Mystique asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"That, my dear, would be the 'cure' for mutants." he responded. "That is also why, we need to stop them."

"How are we going to do that with only three of us?" Sabertooth asked.

"Trust me, three is enough," Magneto said. "Those humans didn't place much security on the compound, thinking that the location was remote enough that no one would find it. Now then, shall we?" Magneto flew off towards the compound, Mystique and Sabertooth following behind him.

* * *

Magneto used his powers to open the metal doors of the compound. Two guards by the doors aimed their weapons at him, but he quickly disarmed them. Once disarmed, Sabertooth and Mystique made quick work of incapacitating them.

* * *

Cerebro notified Charles Xavier of the attack on the compound. "X-Men," he said over the intercom. "Magneto is attacking a compound several hours away; I'm sending the coordinates to the GPS on the X-Jet. Be careful: he most likely has company."

* * *

"That was easy," Mystique said as she finished tying up the last person.

"You're not done yet!" Wolverine shouted at her. The rest of the X-Men were standing behind him.

"Oh goodie," Mystique cooed. "For a second I thought I'd spend the rest of the day doing nothing." Mystique launched at the X-Men.

In a matter of seconds, Sabertooth joined her, heading straight for Wolverine. He jumped on top of Wolverine's chest, forcing him to the ground. Wolverine kicked him with both legs, and sent Sabertooth flying over his head. Sabertooth landed with a loud thud. Growling, he picked himself up off the floor.

"Hey hairy, over here!" Rogue shouted at Sabertooth, trying to distract him from Wolverine.

"Rogue, stay out of this! Go help the others!" Wolverine scolded.

Sabertooth had paid no attention to Rogue, determined to rid the world of Wolverine. He took a running start, lowered his head, and threw as much force as he could into Wolverine's stomach. Wolverine crashed into the wall.

Dazed, Wolverine tried to get up. With a satisfied grin, Sabertooth walked over to him, wrapped his fingers around his throat, and lifted Wolverine off the ground. "Looks like it's the end for you, Wolverine," he snarled.

"Not yet!" Rogue ungloved one of her hands, and pressed it against a bare spot of skin on Sabertooth. He howled in pain as Rogue drained his energy. He let go off Wolverine, before collapsing on the floor.

"Aw man, why does this always have to happen?" Rogue asked herself as she started growing hair at an alarming rate. She bent down near Wolverine. "You alright?" she asked, holding her hand out to him.

"Fine. Are you forgetting something?" he looked down at her hand.

"Oh, right." she said, covering her bare hand. When she finished, she offered the gloved hand back to him.

* * *

Storm was left fending off Mystique, after sending the rest of the X-Men off to find Magneto.

"Why don't you just give up?" Mystique taunted. "You can never beat me."

"I can and I will!" Storm shouted, she targeted several lightning bolts at Mystique.

Mystique gracefully dodged them. "Is that the best you can come up with?"

"Watch." Storm's eyes turned white as she focused more energy into her next move. Mystique took the opportunity to grab hold of a pipe hanging from the ceiling. She kicked off the ground, sending herself into the air. When her feet were level with Storm's mid-section, she kicked her hard.

Storm was forced a few feet away, and into an adjacent pipe.

"Storm!" Jean screamed as she entered the hallway. She had just come back with Scott from the room they were searching. Jean used her telekinesis to safely lower Storm.

Mystique flung herself at Jean. Scott noticed her, and quickly sent an optic beam in her direction to protect Jean. The beam connected with its intended target. Mystique was flung into the wall. She started flailing about on the floor as bolts of electricity coursed through her body. When she stopped, Scott walked over to the now unconscious Mystique. He bent down, turned her head, and found a small device at the base of her skull. Against his better judgment, he picked her up, and started to carry her towards the X-Jet.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry for not updating in such a long time. I had a severe case of writer's block, and I _finally_ was able to produce this chapter. I hope you enjoy. Please review if you read.

Light Warning: This chapter stregthens the "T" rating just a little. It has one swear word. So that's why this is a "light" warning.

* * *

_The woman ran as fast as she could. Her arms were protectively wrapped around a squirming bundle of blankets. Her now blue, fuzzy son; her only surviving child. _

_She had trusted the man that had done this to her son; yet another mistake she had made. She knew he was chasing after her, but somehow, she had managed to stay out of his grasp. She knew he could show up at anytime, so she willed her legs to go faster._

_She came to a bridge. She thought that if she could get to the other side, she and her child would be safe. The woman made it halfway across before the man cut off her chance at safety._

_She stopped abruptly. She looked around frantically for another way out, with no avail. The river ran wildly underneath her feet, acting as if it were under the man's control. Spinning around on her heels, she tried to run the other way. But another, much hairier, man blocked her escape._

_Her hands dropped in shock, and her baby fell through them, leaving him at the mercy of the river._

"_No!!" she cried, desperately trying to catch her baby. _

_There was a loud splash. _

_Mustering all of her strength, the woman ran past the man, and followed the river downward._

-

Mystique wanted to wake up, to get out of the nightmare, but the strong sedative prevented her from doing so. She could feel it slowly losing its tight grip on her, and she willed her eyes to open. They fluttered, fighting desperately to keep the lids up, until finally she was able to clearly see her surroundings.

She was in a small room, set up almost like a hospital room, only with a bit more of a homey-type feel. She went to rub her head to shake of the sedative, but found her arms strapped tightly to the bed. She laughed softly when she found that her legs, too, were tied to the bed.

_Did they really think this would hold me?_ she asked herself as she shifted into a small child and slid her wrists out of their restraints. Mystique went back to her normal self and slowly slipped off the bed. Just then, a man and a wheelchair accompanied by a burly looking man walked in. She knew both men, and it was no surprise to her that they were the ones attempting to keep her captive.

"Aw, I see you're awake," Professor Xavier said.

Logan closed the door behind him, crossed his arms, and eyed Mystique, studying her every move.

She glared at the Professor. "What am I doing here?" she demanded.

"You were injured during our last encounter with you, and-"

"Let me guess," she interrupted. "And as a sign of good faith, you had your little _minions_," she broke her gaze with the Professor to stare at Logan, "bring me back here."

Logan growled. "You can at least _pretend_ to be grateful, we could have-"

The Professor held up his hand "Logan, please, stay out of this. You're free to go whenever you like, Mystique. But I think you might be interested in this." He held out a small, metal object.

She looked at him skeptically, then grabbed the object out of his hand. "Where did you find this," she asked as she examined the object closer. It was no bigger then a tack, and there was dried blood on the bottom of it.

"It was on you when Scott brought you here. Have you seen it before?"

"I think so."

"You think so?"

She stared at the object, trying to remember where she had seen it. Her gaze softened, and she looked down at the floor. "I may sound crazy, but I saw it in a dream," she said quietly.

"Can you describe the dream for me?"

Mystique's body-language grew cold again. "Why should I?"

"You don't have to; I just thought it might help," the Professor replied.

"Help with what?"

"With you dealing with the situation."

"What situation?" she hissed

"Do you know what that device is?"

She was taken aback. "No."

"Well, we have reasons to believe that the device is used primarily to control the thoughts and behavior of the person wearing it."

"So, in laymen's terms: mind control."

"Yes. We think that Magneto was using you to test the long-term use of the device."

Mystique sat down on the bed. "This woman followed a man to this castle like thing -in my dream. He had said that it would be a safe place for her to rest for the night. Inside, it was set up like some sort of laboratory you see in horror movies. There was this desk right near the door, this was on it." She held up the device. "She asked what it was. The man just told her that it was something he was working on. That's when I woke up."

"I'm curious: do you have the same dream?"

"Sometimes. But I have quite a few that revolve around the same woman. And they all seem so real; almost as if they had actually happened…to me"

The Professor nodded.

"When did you start having the dreams? If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't know. Probably a couple of months ago. Why?"

"When I was examining the device, I found that it was malfunctioning. From what I gathered from my research, the device was meant to completely wipe out the wearer's memories of events that happened before the device was in use. I believe that your 'dreams' are -in fact- memories of your life before Magneto managed to get the device on you. They probably only came to you while you were sleeping since they were buried deep in your sub-conscious."

"Then why do I clearly remember that Kurt is my son?"

"Maybe because there are stronger emotions that attach you to him."

Mystique closed her eyes for a moment, and saw the woman running with a bundle of cloth in her arms. A small, blue arm popped out, causing Mystique's eyes to fly open.

"I'm such an idiot," she scolded herself, unaware that Logan and the Professor were still in the room.

"You can say that again," Logan said under his breath.

"I should have realized Kurt was the baby."

"What baby?" Professor Xavier asked.

"In my dream, the woman has a baby. A blue, fuzzy baby. How many woman have babies that fit that description?"

"Just you."

"Exactly." Mystique jumped off the bed and started pacing around the room. "When I get my hands on that bastard I am going to kill him."

"Perhaps you shouldn't be so hasty."

"Why shouldn't I? Because of him, I missed out on sixteen years of _my_ son'slife. Now what am I supposed to do?" She sat down, despair etched on her face. "I could have been happy." She let a tear drop to the floor.

The Professor placed a comforting hand on hers. "You can still be happy. And I'll help you. You can stay here, if you'd like. We could use more help with the students, and you'll be closer to Kurt. And Rogue. I'll leave you alone to decide for a bit. There will be a room ready for you if you decide to stay."

Logan opened the door and waited for the Professor to wheel out.

"Wait," Mystique called as Logan was about to close the door behind himself.

The Professor turned around. "Already made you're decision, Mystique?"

"Yes, I have. If you don't mind, I would like to stay here."

"We'll be glad to have you."

"Thank you. And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Please call me 'Raven'."

"Of course, Raven. By the way, dinner is at six when you're hungry."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Alright. This took me forever to get finished, but here it is. I think I might be able to get chapters out on a more regular basis, but I'm not going to promise anything. Hope you all enjoy. Please tell me what you think. It actually does help encourage me to write more. Enjoy!

* * *

To say Magneto was fuming would have been an understatement. The anger he felt was far beyond any term to measure it. If he wanted to, he could easily take control of everything with a sliver of metal and send it right into Sabertooth's body without feeling an once of regret for the lose. Instead he kept the anger in check, content with Sabertooth's reaction of the lack of emotion shown by his leader.

"…when I went to go get her she was gone," Sabertooth finished the recount of what happened at the compound. "Maybe she got herself out and found a place to hide for a little bit? You know Mystique, she's never been one to follow plans unless they were made by herself."

Sabertooth had a point. Mystique had the potential of being a great right hand, but she was unpredictable at times, choosing to do things her way and only doing whatever she thought was in her best interest -whether it was a part of Magneto's plan or not. Especially if she didn't feel that he wasn't doing it for her.

"The only way we'll know for sure would be to find her. And, as much as I trust your tracking abilities, we're going to need someone with a further reach. A telepath should do the job nicely."

"I don't think Xavier's going to be of help. Or that Jean Grey girl."

"There are more telepaths in the world than just Charles and Grey. And I know the perfect one."

"Who?"

"Ever heard of the White Queen?"

"Not among the mutants I've come across."

"I thought as much. She rarely goes by that name. Perhaps you've heard of a mutant named Emma Frost?"

* * *

She didn't go to dinner. The Professor had come back to see why, and she gave him the normal excuse. She wasn't hungry. He didn't press the matter, even though she knew that it didn't require telepathic abilities to know the real reason why she didn't come. He just asked her to follow him, so she did.

Walking down the mansion's halls with the Professor somehow felt familiar. Almost as if she had done it before, but couldn't quite remember when or why.

He lead her past a few of the students rooms. Some of which had the doors open, showing the occupants inside. They never bothered to leave their spots, but they cautiously watched her as she walked by, quickly turning their heads away when she made eye contact with them. They walked past Kurt's and Evan's room, where Kurt was leaning against the door frame. He offered Raven a shy, yet friendly smile that she tried to return. _At least he's willing to be cordial._

The Professor stopped a few inches from a room at the end of the hallway and invited Raven to enter with a quick hand gesture. "I hope this one will be to your liking," he said as she entered the room and looked around. It was bland, only having the bare essentials for an occupant, but spacious. It even came with a balcony that overlooked the swimming pool. "I figured you could pick up some of your things once you're settled comfortably here."

"Thanks." She plopped down on the bed, ready for the day to be over.

"I know it's not going to be easy for you. But I think with time, you'll get along just fine here." She watched him as he wheeled down the hallway.

* * *

"I should have just left her there to rot," Scott said as he paced the kitchen floor. He and the rest of the team from the research facility were all gathered in the kitchen. "That's what she would have done if it were one of us."

"You did the right thing, Scott. Stop worrying about it," Jean replied. "What's done is done."

"How can you say that when we've got one of our worst enemies upstairs!"

"Calm down, will ya?" Logan said as he grabbed a cup of coffee. "The Professor is willing to take a chance with her, we should at least try to be civil."

"And when did you have this sudden change of heart?"

"I don't know, it was 'sudden'. Look, coming from one with experience with this whole mind crap, we should at least give her the benefit of the doubt."

"That's easier said the done," Ororo pointed out.

"What's everyone talking about?" Kurt asked after he teleported into the room.

"Who do ya think?" Rogue replied sarcastically.

"Oh." Kurt grabbed a plate out of the cabinet and started placing leftover food from that night's dinner onto the plate as nonchalantly as possible.

"Jeez, Kurt. Didn't you have enough at dinner time? You took three helpings."

"It's not for me," he placed the food in the microwave. "I figured Mystique was hungry since she didn't come down, so I'm taking a plate to her."

"I can't believe you!" Rogue snapped.

Ororo put a hand on Rogue's shoulder and tried to guide her back to her seat. "Rogue, calm down."

"No, I won't! How can you be nice to her, Kurt! All she's done is cause trouble for us, and here you are serving her food!"

"What do you expect from me? She's my mother! And unlike some people I know, I actually want to have a relationship with her! Besides, no one complained when we let you join the team!"

"That's completely different and you know it!"

"Is it? Because the way I saw it, the only reason you treated us the way you did was because someone else was telling you how to treat us! Maybe not in a direct way, but your actions weren't completely in your control!" With that, Kurt grabbed the plate out of the microwave and teleported out of the room before Rogue had a chance to retort.

* * *

Kurt appeared right outside of Raven's room. He knocked gentle on the door with his free hand and waited for a reply. A stern, 'go away' was all that he got. He knocked again, hoping that being persistent would get the response he wanted.

"I said 'go away'!"

"Oh, come on. Please let me in? I figured you might be hungry, so I brought you something to eat."

On the other side of the door, Raven contemplated letting him in. She was lying down on the bed, staring out the glass door that led to the balcony. She wiped a stray tear off of her cheek, and decided that it would be better if no one saw her until her face stopped showing the obvious signs that she was crying. "Just leave it…" her voice cracked, and she quickly cleared her throat to cover for it. "Just leave it at the door."

"Are you sure? It's meatloaf. And it's definitely better when it's hot."

"I'm sure."

"Alright then, you leave me no other choice." Kurt had a rule about teleporting into a private room without the occupant's permission, but in this case he made an exception. Startled, Raven moved into a sitting position to see who had just come in. Kurt sat down next to her and offered her the plate. "I know it isn't five star quality, but it's pretty decent. Especially compared to Kitty's cooking."

"Thank you." She took the plate and stared at it.

"Silly me. I forgot a fork. I'll be right back." He teleported out of the room, and within three seconds was back in the same spot, fork in hand. He gave it to her, and watched her poke the meatloaf with it.

"What's the red stuff on it?" She finally asked.

"Ketchup."

"You put ketchup on meatloaf?"

"Yeah, you don't?"

"No. That's just gross."

"Just pick around the part with it and you'll be fine."

She nodded her head in agreement and started eating.

"Are you okay?"

She chuckled. "I don't know. Everything's changed so suddenly that it's hard to catch up."

"You'll do it eventually." She nodded again and he reached over and wrapped his arms around her. Maybe he was getting too close too soon, but he didn't care. It felt just felt right. He was surprised to find that she had placed the food on the bed, and returned the hug.


End file.
